Rags Over Riches
by YaoiCookie
Summary: A story where Ron uses his brain and discovers some odd actions of his new best friend. No pairings, friendship


**Note:** I am not a fan of character bashing. Ronald Weasley is, aside from Dumbledore, one of the most bashed characters in the HP Fandom. This is dedicated to all the people out there that are fans of Ronald Weasley, so I doubt that I'll get many reviews for this. xD

**Warning: **This fic was written in snippets, though someday I may go over and fill it out some. Add more details, make it a little less stale, etc. Or, you could do it yourself.

**More Warnings:** Will probably never be updated, this story is merely one of the many I have written on my comp that I've dusted off to allow the world to view. Check my profile for adoption data, challenge info, et cetera...who actually spells that anyway? If I do continue this, updates will be slow in coming.

**Another New Warning:** I have to lmao at the reviews, so I want to clarify something right now; The reasons the Dursley's celebrate Thanksgiving and why they're celebrating Thanksgiving in this fic is simple, one, I'm American (like, ja). Two, it's a holiday primarily to eat stuff, it seems like something the Dursley's would do, if only to torture Harry into cooking food and watching them eat. Three, notice how it's only them celebrating; I thought I got number two across clearly, but I think I ruined it by putting "Thanksgiving Normals" in the fic. I was just lazy and didn't feel like writing a bunch of food.

That being said, enjoy! :D

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><p>Ronald Weasley smiled at his new friend, Harry Potter, after the blonde boy, Draco Malfoy, left their compartment. Harry gave him back a small smile and they continued on with their conversation. Unknown to Harry, Ron was thinking about the way he was acting. None of the other kids he'd seen before had ever been so…jumpy.<p>

_Maybe he's just shy? _He smiled and continued on.

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><p>Ron's eyes were glued to his new friend, watching as he ducked, head bowed, and walked to the stool. After the Sorting Hat yelled out "Gryffindor!" Ron clapped with the others. Harry stood up from the stool and gave a shaky smile at the applause he was receiving. He then hurried to a seat, seeming to try to get far away from his other housemates as possible, before someone grabbed his hand and sat him down next to them. Harry twitched at the contact, face showing confusion.<p>

And a small amount of fear.

_The school must be terrifying for him, _Ron thought, catching the look. _I mean, he was raised with Muggles so…_

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><p>Ron noticed that Harry didn't eat much food. Also, the boy was thin, and so small! His mum would love to fatten him up, he was sure. When he said this to Harry, he froze and his eyes darted around the place. "Just a small appetite, Ron." He chuckled, though it seemed off. "Besides, why would your mum want me?" Ron was confused. How could Harry think his mum wouldn't want him?<p>

_Downplaying his abilities, this one. _He gave Harry a pat on the back as he discreetly slipped a tart on his plate.

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><p>Harry didn't like to talk about his home life, Ron noted. He would always hesitate to answer before blatantly changing the topic. Ron would then find himself speaking about his family more and Harry would get this wistful look on his face…<p>

_Maybe he's homesick?_ Ron reasoned, doubtful.

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><p>Harry woke up early to use the shower. He got out of bed before anyone else did and rushed to the bathrooms to quickly wash. Ron thought it was rather cute, even though Harry refused to explain why.<p>

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><p>Harry's clothes were rather large and unpleasant looking. Whenever Ron saw them, he couldn't help but wince. Harry seemed to have worse clothes than he did and that was saying a lot, as all of Ron's clothes were hand-me-downs. Ron had tried to ask once, but Harry had skillfully avoided him for two days without answering.<p>

_Well, it's none of my business…right?_

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><p>Ron couldn't believe that they'd saved that bossy girl, Hermione Granger, from a troll. Hell, she couldn't believe that they'd saved her from a troll! But, what really puzzled Ron was, when they talked about it, Harry didn't take any of the credit. He kept praising Ron but he'd never said a thing about himself, even when they mentioned it. "It was nothing," he'd say. Then he'd mention Ron again.<p>

_Selfless? _He twitched at the change in conversation.

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><p>Ron had to go to the bathroom.<p>

Harry had unknowingly woken him up after he'd stumbled from the room. After hearing the door close, Ron stood up and padded to the door. He twisted the knob slowly, not wanting to startle Harry, and cracked open the door. Harry was taking off his shirt, oblivious to the door opening, and Ron's eyes widened as he saw his skin. Yellow and purple marks danced across him, a few parts green. Without a sound, Ron closed the door to the room and went back to bed.

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><p><strong>Dear Mum,<strong>

**I know I haven't written much recently, but something's bugging me. Mum, how do you know if your friend is in a bad house? It's just…There's this boy, you see…**

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><p>Ron noticed that Harry didn't get any mail. He mentioned it to him, asking why his aunt and uncle, even his cousin, never wrote him. Harry shrugged sadly. "Um…they're really busy, mate."<p>

"My mum and dad are busy all the time," Ron stated, catching Harry off guard with the intensity of the statement. When he looked up into Ron's eyes, he shivered. "They always make time for me."

"Don't sweat it, Ron," Harry cleared his throat as he took off his glasses to clean them. "I'm used to it." Ron scowled.

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><p><strong>My Sweet Ronald,<strong>

**How have you been? It's very good to hear from you and I'm glad to know you've made new friends. Now, son, I know you're one to exaggerate the circumstances but, as this is a rather series issue, I will take this into consideration and look at the facts first, for your friend's sake. Who is he, by the way?**

**Onto other matters, Ronald, the things you've told me all point to the direction of a lack of childcare on his guardians part. I do believe this boy is not being cared for properly. Are you the only one who noticed this, Ronald? Perhaps if you were to…**

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><p>Hogwarts' professors are blind. This was a fact to Ron after he'd brought up the issue of Harry with his Head of House, Minerva McGonagall. The woman had brushed his concern away without even thinking on it. Ron was sure he'd never been so disgusted in his life. No, scratch that. After he'd been blown off by three professors, his disgust managed to rise.<p>

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><p><strong>Dear Mum,<strong>

**I hate it here. There's this professor called Snape who always picks on Harry! He never gets a fair grade. Harry Potter, the boy I've been mentioning, is better at me in potions and he gets lower grades! I tried telling the professors about it, like you said, but they didn't even listen to me! Mum, Harry woke up crying and he ran to the bathroom before I could say anything. I think Snape's detention had something to do with it.**

**Oh! I got Harry to talk a bit about his home life! It's sad mum! Can you believe that his first friend was his Hagrid, our Grounds Keeper? Then Hedwig, his owl, and then me and Hermione Granger, she's this really bossy and smart Muggle-born witch (By the way mum, should I tell Hermione about this?) that Harry and I saved from a Mountain Troll on Halloween. Harry said that he's never gotten a birthday or Christmas present, nor has he ever had a party. Isn't that sad, mum? He's rich, much richer than most of everyone in our school, and he's living life poorer than…**

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><p>"Do you guys celebrate Thanksgiving?" The question made Ron and Hermione freeze.<p>

"Thanks-Giving?" Ron asked, confused. "What's that?"

"It's a Muggle holiday, Ron," Hermione explained, a frown for his obliviousness in her voice. "It's basically a time to eat lots of food, really."

"Oh…" Harry looked a bit rejected. Hermione shook her head and went off to read a book as Ron watched his friend closely.

"Did you want to celebrate Thanks-Giving, Harry?" The boy shrugged, a blush coming to his face.

"It's just…The Dursley's would always sit together and eat a lot with their family on Thanksgiving. And they would talk and laugh and get to know each other better and…No, never mind. It's stupid." He blushed brighter under the scrutiny Ron was giving him. Unknown to him, his friend was analyzing his words. Harry hadn't said "my family would" nor had he said "we would talk." He hadn't mentioned himself at all. Realizing that Harry was floundering, the redhead spoke.

"It's okay, Harry." Ron smiled, holding in the bitterness that wanted to seep through. "Let's celebrate this Thanks-Giving. It sounds…relaxing." The smile he received was worth it.

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><p>Hermione twitched as the conversation continued between her and her friends. Harry had been trying to avoid talking about his family since they'd started their meal, which consisted of a feast of Thanksgiving's normal's, though Ron had guilt him into speaking, saying that this was a time to bond amongst friends. Harry's story was full of holes to her; she could see that he was having a hard time trying to tell them good things.<p>

So how much was he skipping over that was bad?

She caught Ron's eye and he gave her a nod, letting her know that he knew it too, and they listened closely as Harry stuttered through describing his room.

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><p><strong>RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY!<strong>

**What did you mean by saving a girl from a Mountain Troll, young man? And Harry Potter? The sweet little boy who asked to get on the train? Perhaps the boy is simply shy, Ronald? But don't think that this excuses you from before! A MOUNTAIN TROLL? Boy, when I get my hands on you…**

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><p>Harry looked shocked to get a Christmas present. He looked equally shocked to get one from Ron and Ron's mother. Ron noticed the dirty sock he'd gotten from the Dursley's and he held back a wail of rage. After he and Harry opened up their presents, with Harry getting an Invisibility Cloak, the two sat before the fire in the Common Room.<p>

"It's too bad Hermione couldn't stay," Ron mumbled, watching amusedly as Harry fawned over the cloak. He squashed down his jealousy, knowing that Harry had hardly ever gotten anything before. It was good for him.

"Hermione has a family, Ron," Harry responded, snuggling up in his Weasley Jumper, courtesy of Ron's mum. Ron also wore his sweater, not complaining about the color as he usually did. Besides, if Harry could wear worse then so could he! (Though he did make a mental reminder to owl his mother about it.)

"We have a family too, Harry." Harry sighed sadly.

"Well, your mother and father understand Ron and mine…well, no one cares."

"Not true…" Ron blushed as Harry snapped his head up to look at him. He cleared his throat. "I'm allowed to care about you, right?" Harry blushed scarlet and ducked his head to hide his smile.

"…Thanks, Ron…"

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><p><strong>Dear Mum,<strong>

**Not you too! Please don't tell me that you're going to give up with helping me just because my friend is Harry Potter? I'm telling you, mum, something's wrong with his family! They gave him a dirty sock for Christmas! A DIRTY SOCK! Oh, and he sends his thanks for the jumper and the fudge, as well as I.**

**But mum, please don't give up! I don't know what I'll do if you do! But if you do give up then I'll never talk to you again! EVER! Harry told me and Hermione about more of his home life and he was trying to describe his room. All he could say was that he had a bed! Then he mentioned that it was bigger than his last room, and before that he said that he has the smallest room in the house! Mum, please, can't you do something for him? Maybe get dad to check his home or file? He's interested in Muggles.**

**Oh, yes, and about the jumper you sent me…**

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><p>Ron shook his head at Harry as he came from off the Quidditch Pitch, shaking to get the cold off his bones. Harry grinned at him, happy from the test run in the air. "What'd you think?"<p>

"B-bloody b-brilliant, mate!" Ron patted his back. "Y-you'll w-win for s-sure!" Harry blushed.

"With everyone's help, perhaps." The redhead sighed, knowing how hard it was for Harry to accept praise, and walked with him to the castle.

"N-not at all, m-mate! Y-you could take t-them," he rubbed his arms, "b-by yourself!" Harry's head bowed, much to Ron's chagrin. He knew that was when Harry hid his smiles.

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><p>Hermione had told them everything about Nicholas Flamel that she could find. Ron and Harry had read up on the Philosopher's Stone plenty of times to get it stuck in their heads. They each felt a bit apprehensive about it afterwards.<p>

"You don't think…?" Harry trailed off.

"Snape couldn't possibly be working for You-Know-Who!" Hermione whispered harshly. "He's a professor!" Harry scowled at her.

"Not all adults are good, Hermione!" Ron's eyes flashed at that statement, noticing Hermione's doing the same. The two shared a look.

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><p>"I can't believe he jinxed my broom!" Harry shouted, anger on his face. Hermione's face was pale. Ron shook his head.<p>

"I don't know guys." The two shot him a dark look. He ignored them, hand on his chin. "It's too obvious."

"What do you mean?" Hermione questioned. Harry settled down to listen.

"Well, it's like when I'm at home," Ron blushed at the attention they showed him. "When my little sister, Ginny, plays a prank, everything points that it's Fred and George that did it. But when Fred and George play a prank, you usually know it's them, but you can't find any proof. Though Ginny doesn't know that yet." He rubbed his chin in thought. "It's her distraction; _I'll put the attention on Fred and George because everything points to them, and I'll get away while your head is turned._

"In this case, Fred and George are Snape," he shivered at the thought. "They're innocent but, since they're more likely to do the crime, everyone will be looking at them, while the real criminal gets away." The two students gaped at him, making his blush return full force. "What?" Harry and Hermione smiled at him.

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><p>"She's not going to believe us."<p>

"Honestly, Ron, she's a professor!"

"And didn't Harry say that not all adults are good, Hermione?" The two stopped bickering as they came upon McGonagall, who Ron scowled at. Harry took a step forward to tell her what they were there for.

"Professor McGonagall, the Philosopher's Stone is in danger." Harry spoke clearly and looked into her eyes. "We think Professor Quirrell is trying to steal it." McGonagall scoffed at them, eyes a bit wide.

"How do you know about the stone?"

"Is that the only thing you heard?" Ron glared. "Quirrell's trying to steal the stone!"

"That's Professor Quirrell, Mr. Weasley. And ten points from Gryffindor for your cheek." She pushed her glasses up as she looked them over. "I don't know where you've gotten your information, but I guarantee you that the stone is safe." With that, she headed off, leaving two shocked and one angry student in her wake.

"She didn't believe us," Hermione sat down on the steps.

"Of course she didn't," Ron scowled. "She's a Hogwarts professor; they're incompetent." The two gaped at him.

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><p>Ron paced back and forth in the Common Room, wondering why his mother had yet to give him a letter. If he were to send an owl to her, it wouldn't reach her in time. "Mum, what do I do?"<p>

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><p>"Professor Snape?" The man in question scowled at the Gryffindor in his room.<p>

"Weasley?" Ron squared his shoulders and took a step inside.

"Harry, Hermione and I believe that Professor Quirrell is trying to steal the stone." Snape's eyes twitched.

"And how did you conclude that?" Sneering, Ron sat down.

"Everything pointed at you," he stated bluntly. "But you're too…_smart_ to leave tracks like that. After we saw your encounters with Quirrell, and Harry's scar kept stinging around him, we retraced our steps to look at everything. Everything points that you want the stone and there's proof placed that each professor could easily want it as well. Quirrell's the only one with nothing against him, and that makes him the most suspicious." Snape's brow rose, impressed despite himself.

"Very well. When is he suppose to steal it?"

"Tonight." Ron swallowed as Snape's eyes pierced him. "While the Headmaster's away."

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><p>"I can't let you leave!" Neville Longbottom shouted, wand pointed at Harry. Hermione and Ron stood beside him, looking at Neville in shock.<p>

"You don't understand, Neville-" Hermione tried to reason. Neville shook his head.

"No, you don't understand! All year you've been losing us House Points and-"

"_Stupefy_!" Hermione fell to the ground, leaving Harry standing in shock. His eyes snapped over to his friend.

"R-Ron?" Ron shook his head at Harry.

"No, Harry. I told you in the room that we shouldn't be leaving. Let the adults handle this mess!"

"But Ron!" Harry dodged the Stupefy sent at him. "If he gets the stone then Voldemort will-"

"And it won't be our faults!" Ron snapped, shivering at the use of the name. "The stone is guarded by fully trained wizards and witches, what are we going to do to get to it? And you may not value our lives, Harry, but I do!" Harry flinched and paled at the words. Ron refused to take it back, knowing that Harry needed to hear this. "You may not seem to remember, Harry, but we're kids! What's going to happen if we _kids_ try to fight a Dark Lord, Harry? What?" Harry gulped, hands shaking.

"We might die…"

"Do you want us to die, Harry?" Slowly, green eyes filling with tears, Harry shook his head. "Good." Ron wrapped his friend up in a hug, ignoring the flinch he got. "I wouldn't want you to die either. Harry, let the adults do their jobs, alright? We're not fit to fight Dark Lords." The two stood there for a moment longer until Neville's squeak caught their attention.

"D-D-Dark Lord?" With a look, Ron pushed Harry into a seat and looked over at Hermione. He sighed and pointed his wand at her. "Ennervate." Hermione shot up with a gasp. "Neville, you might want to sit down for this."

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><p>"This year, Gryffindor has won the House Cup-"<p>

"Don't forget our Quidditch Cup!" The Weasley twins shouted. Many cheers went through the Gryffindors at that. Dumbledore smiled and continued his speech, but Ron couldn't help but notice that his eyes wouldn't stop wandering to Harry.

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><p>"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, I owe you all an apology." The voice of McGonagall made the three freeze. Ron shot a look of loathing at her, while Hermione and Harry showed disbelief.<p>

"Professor?"

"Professor Snape told me all about it." She gave a smile to Ron. "You went to tell him of your suspicions when I wouldn't listen and, well, he followed your advice. Luckily, Quirrell was unable to obtain the stone. The Flamels are indebted to you."

"Professor?" Harry questioned before she could walk away. McGonagall paused.

"Yes?" Harry shifted.

"Is there anyway I can stay at Hogwarts for the summer?"

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><p>Harry sighed dejectedly as they rode the train back to the station. He wished that Dumbledore had let him stay. "Why don't you come over to my house, Harry?" Ron questioned. Harry shrugged.<p>

"The Dursley's would never let me go." Ron scowled.

"What about my house?" Hermione questioned. Harry shook his head and lapsed into silence. They sat there quietly until Neville joined in.

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><p>"Mr. Potter?" Harry froze as three wizards stepped up to him. Beside him, Ron, Hermione and Neville froze as well.<p>

"That's me." He responded. "May I help you?"

"We're part of the Ministry of Magic, Aurors."

"Aren't they the police?" Hermione whispered to Neville, getting a look of confusion from him.

"We'd like you to come with us," the man continued, staring at a rather surprised Harry with intense eyes.

"W-why?" Harry stuttered. Ron shifted as his mother came into view, fire in her eyes.

"Ronald, does Harry know what's going on?" He shook his head nervously, shooting a glance to his frozen friend. "I see…Harry Potter?" Green eyes snapped to the redhead woman, earning a kind smile. "My name is Molly Weasley," said woman introduced herself warmly. "I'm Ronald's mother. Over the year I've been getting some letters from Ron with concern to your well-being." Harry shot Ron a surprised look and he blushed under the attention. "He asked me to ask his father, Arthur Weasley, to look into your home life as he was concerned about how you were being treated." Harry paled at that, shaking.

"Ron!"

"Don't be angry, Harry!" Ron pleaded as he saw the look on his friend's face. "I was worried that you'd go home and I'd never see you again!" Harry's face softened.

"Ron…"

"I told you that people care!" Ron blushed and turned his head away.

"Mr. Potter," the Auror spoke up again, breaking the moment. "If you would allow us to take you to the Ministry?"

"What about the Dursley's?" Harry croaked, suddenly feeling fear curl around him.

"They're already there." Mrs. Weasley put a hand on his shoulder, and everyone took note of the flinch.

"Don't worry, Harry." She gave him a smile. "Ronald and I shall accompany you."


End file.
